Dang - I'm Not a Stubborn Donkey

Chels puddles of thoughts, puddle jumper, puddle maker, puddle person just opened up the flood gates. I was so reluctant to "go all the way" and then with a little gentle nudging from the afore mentioned I gave in. I am no longer chaste and untaken I am in it now, I've done it and I am gonna do it some more. I will do it with any one or thing or even all alone, I probably wont stop. I am gonna do it in front of anyone that wants to watch. Yeah you got that right. I am gonna change things in my template anytime I choose. I feel so free. I dont care if I am the last to do it I never really was that good at succumbing to peer pressure anyway. For instance I dont smoke, even though everyone else does - so - see. Get ready for the hayride its gonna be bumpy, its gonna be fast and maybe a little bit dangerous but after all it is only hay - OK

Weak End

Time seems to have a mind of its own and when you dont have a camera you cant prove s$%t. Lucky for me my cell phone is equipped with the most lame little snapshot device, Banana has a nice phone with flash and video but no mine it is worse than a photo booth. We went to the Mall - is it supposed to be in CAPS or is it ok to say mall? Anyway we were at the newly fixed up Newport Center Mall in Jersey City, New Jersey. This mall is right after the Holland Tunnel, in case you dont study local geography. We ate cinnamon pretzels and bought kids school gear and assorted sundries, all the while looking for Wahl clipper accessories. See I cut my own hair as I have done since I was a teen and since my clippers comb things were wearing out I thought it would be cheap to go to the mall and get them there instead of paying the 9 dollar shipping to have them delivered. Nobody had them. After going to the 'specialized wig and barber outlet' we went to sears, pennys, khols, you name it. It was 6 dollars to come back to manhattan and 2 dollars to park not to mention gas and snacks - plus the other "shopping" we did- funny you can leave NY for free but no matter who if you come through the major bridges and tunnels its 6 bucks- the cheapest way in - you can try and wing around and do the I95 thing but it still costs you if not in gas, certainly in time and headace and 75 cent tolls. So we came home and ate.

King Crab, Steak and Grilled Corn a la Mushy. This whole meal was inspired by this guy in Tennessee by the name of Mushy. He cooks things his way and most times that is the best way. Whenever you nail a system -stick with it.




Oh did I forget to mention that I ordered the things anyway for 18.99 total - 8.99 for the set and 9.99 for shipping - funny huh?

Awards

I am certain most of you remember a program on MTV called Celebrity Deathmatch, whereby two clay figures battle it out. Well I propose we revive the program and get Bear Grylls from Man vs. Wild and Les Stroud from Survivorman to go toe to toe. From my estimation Les cant find food at a lunch counter and struggles to build shelters with tarps so it seems like hands down Bear is the winner but I hesistate since there is always the tortoise and the hare story to back up otherwise. That being said let me get on to the business at hand. Beth, over at Blind as a Bat, has bestowed upon me an award, the second of which I have received and the impetus to get me to retrieve the other one and post them in my sidebar. The Rockin Blogger Award. Along with this award comes the responsibility to pass it on to five other bloggers that "move me" I want to name every blogger I know but I had to narrow it down trust me most, if not all, who I have read have affected me in some positve way or another. And those are, in no particular order:

Little Wing. This young woman is so full of energy and life that she must reek of excitement and thrill. Her stories about her adventures her jokes her recollections from her past are all delivered with the most sincere charm and wit. She is truly a "rockin blogger".

This guy almost makes me want to give up all the good things I enjoy -meat, fat and dairy. He is a prolific vegan creator with some of the most creative dishes I have seen. He makes his dishes so attractive and so inviting that they break all of my stereotypes of veganism, he rocks because of his total commitment to his food, Vincent at Veganimprov is inspirational to me.

Pinknest is prolific as well. This woman gets around. Not only does she hit all the best spots but the new and old alike and she writes about them with such aplomb and provides photos of the food and ambiance with such ease that you feel like you are sitting right there with her and her friends - plus she is a great cook and an astounding baker - if you want to live vicariously through anyone she is your meal ticket.

Chel over at Chels Puddles of thoughts for being an awesome mom and I am guessing an awesome wife, she sure says she loves her husband a lot so thats such a nice thing to be around. She just seems to take care of things.

Lastly but not least the opinions and rectums guy Buffalodickdy. The food competition miester of the north. A "steel man" that can throw down with the pots and pans appropriately enough. An award seeking and award winning member of a barbeque team, an all around good guy and a sensitive soul at that.

So there you have it - please keep your acceptance speeches short we have only a limited time slot before everybody loves raymond has to run several episodes back to back!

Camera Withdrawl

I want my camera or a camera, any camera. Words are nice but pictures say a thousand words, pictures back it all up. Me describing something is so much different than actually showing it. Its a lot like a quote from Mark Twain in which he says "sorry I wrote you a long letter I didnt have time to write a short one" It is so much harder to be short and sweet. That being said here is what my phone can capture - our skateboards. We have that the one board that no one rides because my son likes the logo way too much to get it scratched and the other two - one his his and the other mine. Believe me nothing is more hilarious than watching my old ass trying to do an "ollie" and thats just an intro trick, you need the ollie in order to do everything else. Well needless to say there is no ollie going on here just simple straight forward getting somewhere skateboarding. Having this youngster around people say "keeps you young" well tell that to my birthday that happens every year.

I am on the cusp of virgo and libra but I feel like more of a libra at least during some years I am libra longer any way libra has had some doozies lately....

LibraYour old issues deserve to be where all old issues belong: in the past. Do not try to hold on to water as it flows under the bridge -- you'll just end up getting all wet (not to mention frustrated). Time moves forward, and you are meant to go along with it! It's true that looking back can give you insight about the mistakes you have made, but you must let a certain amount of time pass by before you can achieve that 20/20 hindsight. It's too soon right now.

Ho Hum

There is really not much to open up about, my childhood was great and filled with fun times in the rural river valley of middle New Mexico less than a mile from the Rio Grande. (are you reading huge garden with corn, melons, berries and tomatoes, chile and squash, as well as fruit trees and other edible growing things.)We had a farm with the usual goats and chickens and sheep and a milk cow, a cat that ate mice and a dog that worked the animals. Some of my friends had horses so we rode horses a lot. My great grandmother made cheese from the goat and cows milk, my grandmother knew about all the medicinal weeds and things that grew everywhere and my grandfather could say words in french, german and the local indian dialect of tewa as well as his native spanish and english. I had access to the tractor as "my ride" starting at around 10 years old and I drove the pickup truck along the ditches and backroads since I was 13, so a manual transmission is in my blood so to speak. I always had matches and I was always cooking the various "game" that I had either caught or shot. Life went on like this for some time even after I entered college on an academic scolarship to stanford of which I rejected because it was based on race and quotas. So I ended up paying for my education myself as insisted upon by me to the local school - the university of new mexico - unm. I had a 3.5 gpa and was editor of the college art magazine and curator of the gallery.

Oh i FORGOT for two semesters or so (equals about a year and a half and minimum three bodies per day) I photographed dead bodies for the medical investigator of the state of NM as a work study job - only sucpicious deaths - It helped pay for school and most people "freaked" about the subjects. there is more to this story but I dont feel like typing.

This is so stupid to me.....what does any of this have to do with NOW? WE ALL have feathers to put in our caps, we have all done good things and bad things what is the point?

I live in NYC - I have lived here since 1985 I have worked for all the major record labels and various magazines as a stylist, art director or artist consultant - all freelance, I even did a staff stint at conde nast which was weird by itself. I have sold my face and body parts as a model for photos back when I was more athletic for bicycle magazines and assorted other sportsy things. I have hosted and performed in many poetry events resulting in a cabaret type show that did gigs all over the place including one silly little show in coney island and another for some italian guys with shiny suits and matching cars (this was a scary one). But like I said this means nothing now.

I have travelled quite a bit but I have never been to egypt or russia or a few other places as well, I was in morroco once for only a short time but I got so scared I had to leave right away it seemed like some creepy fellas that I had spotted in marseille had followed us to morroco and I was having none of that. I have been to most of the states except washington, alaska and hawaii.

I have been married once and divorced once. honesty is the best policy - i cheated on my my wife - if you really have to know. I then later went on a "baby mission" The result is that I have a child out of wedlock that lives with me. I have had several long term relationships and countless fleeting and meaningless relationships, I can remember everyone.

Now I cook. I invent recipes.... give me a taste and I can tell you whats in it.... I cant arrange food on a plate to save my soul.

Whats my point?

Feathers?

who knows...

Camping

We were in The Promised Land this weekend and it was nice, but since I have no camera there are no photos. We were so lucky that it didn't rain all weekend, rain and tents is no fun. We drove around a bit and got lost on PA State road 590. What a twisty turvy road that seems to not lead anywhere. We drove a lonnnnng way east and felt more and more lost so we turned around and drove back. Lake Wallenpaupak is huge. We cant wait to go camping again since while we were at the campground we got a chance to discover the "spot" we like best.

Typing

Truman Capote once famously said and I quote "this isnt writing this is typing" reminds me of my dad when I was in my late teens and early twenties. I had reluctantly taken the time and all the relegatory prerequisetes before letting my dad into my inner realm (my mom, reluctantly, has been there for years, after all I am hers, and I am his too but he gets wierded out over ballet and poetry so he is a delicate mark, plus since I was little until the last time I saw him he always cries when he says "bye" to me in person, its way too cute and so endearing) so when my dad gets a chance to read some of the many things I write and I sheepishly and doggedly and pussidly and stupidly and awe struckedly wait for some lame ass response I get this "I didnt know you could type".........never saw that coming.

choices

So what are your choices when you get a horoscope like this? Yeah I believe in fortune cookies and the new trivia pop tarts and the chinese calendar and nancy reagan and whatever. I am glad I read this now after the day is over, imagine if I read it early and then tried to accomplish it?

LibraWherever you go today, try to elevate the atmosphere by flirting up a storm! Even if you are already in a relationship or are not in the mood to begin a new one anytime soon, there's no reason not to amp up your charm and make someone feel special. Do not worry that you are making some sort of promise you have no intention of keeping. As long as you keep things vague and G-rated, flirting is totally harmless -- and it always puts a smile on people's faces.

bore ring

If it wasnt for the stupendous thunder this morning and the tropical downpour this day is a wash. I crack me up. I need a new digital camera since in case you havent noticed all my shots are blurry and now it is acting funny, like some times it zooms and opens and other times it gives me a "zoom error". I like the casios and the sony's, so if you were gonna buy one which would you get? I have a fuji finepix now and am not satisfied since day two but continued to cut it slack thinking it was me.


these are the choices



this is what I have

news:

Well I dropped it off to get repaired since I did get the "extended warranty" the one they say that they fix it or replace it but have to look at it first. Knowing me while I wait to "find out" I will have bought a new one and relegated this one to the little guy when ever its ready.

Saw this HUGE flower today and see my phone takes a better picture.

phoenix rising

Last night my little Escoffier says to me " can I have salmon with lime for breakfast" to which I replied, "salmon with lime, are you sure?" and he said "yes." I couldn't actually believe it until this morning when he asked "what are we having for breakfast" and I said "salmon with lime" and he said "good". I made his and he gobbled it right up before I could even get a chance to blink. So as I was blinking I snapped these shots of him eliminating his portion.

It was so good I felt like I was having breakfast in Japan even though I have never been to Japan and I dont even know if this is typical Japanese breakfast, but to me it was, and if it isnt when I come back in the next life in Japan this will be my breakfast. Pan seared salmon with jasmine rice and cucumber seasoned with salt, pepper and hungarian paprika and of course lime.

Fire Island

Boogie boards and me do not go way back. I was in my twenties before I saw waves of any size. Sure we went to anahiem when I was a kid to visit disney world and my dad took us to see the ocean but it was a bay yet he said it was the ocean and it was - but it wasnt THE ocean. Remember we are from the sunny dryness of new mexico and I guess He didnt want us to drown so I guess you gotta give him credit for that at least, and well, I do. So years go by and I find myself 27 or so years old in california on a job paid for by people in new york who flew us there, NY my home for the previous two years my first 2 years, any way we are on a job photographing old surfers from the 60's, for some wierd trade magazine, well my friend was photgraphing them, I was along for support and as a liason and as an assistant and to have fun on this trip. This wasnt the usual assisting situation since we were old college roomates, friends or whatever and we were like some little production team. Anyway we are at La Jolla Beach below this cliff along a NUDE beach, but it is like in the AM, I wanna say 5 am just to sound knarly but it was more like 6 or 7 and there were a few topless elderly out, any way this beach was below a cliff and that is the coolest thing I had ever seen - ever - and the waves were awesome. I was using the waterproof camera in that bulky yellow case thing, a boogie board and a full body wetsuit that belonged to one of the 60's dudes that he loaned me. Many firsts here. 1) first time in a wetsuit. 2) first time with a boogie board 3) first time with the waterproof bulky thing 4) first time in big waves.

I got trashed! all the photos are from me clicking away while trying to stay alive as I get pummeled from every single wave, and all you see is water and the occasional sky. Not one single picture of these guys in the water. I made it my mission to get used to waves after that. Many other wave adventures since then....some scary, most fun but none as terrifying as that very first time.

Me and the Guy checked it out for his first time at Robert Moses beach, small waves that broke on shore.

Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl mulcazitl

Just as I thought I was escaping Nahuatl it creeps back in this time disguised as Spanish. While in Woodstock cruising the little shops we came across a Molcajete and they only wanted 12 bucks for it. I bet I could have offred them less but knowing it was at least half of its orginal price and a piglet to boot I accepted the price. It was missing the Tejolote or pestle but since we were swimming at the stream and there were tons of river rocks we found a good one, or two or a few. Its so hard to choose the right rock when there are just way too many and all good.




It was just as easy to pick the wrong one as it would have been to pick the right one.




I have a wooden mortar and pestle and the marble one too but nothing compares to this. I feel like sing the Sinead O Conner tune, I know I am a dork!

1 tomato, 2 tomatoes..

First off my profile picture keeps disappearing so I replace it and it disappears again. Secondly I will post in not so greater detail as to who the occasional woman is in my posts. Thirdly its hotter than pistols. Fourthly its feeding time. Everyone, at least I think everyone, likes tomatoes, mozzarella and basil and this is how I like it. I have posted this version before but here it is again. Why make one when you can make three, after all what good is sharing when you can be a little piggy and have one to yourself? I scattered some balsamic vinager and some extra virgin olive oil along with fresh ground pepper and sea salt to liven it up a little more.



There were also deep fried smelts with a tomato, white peach, parsley and blueberry vinager salsa, followed by some gumbo.

This pot was seriously chock full. It had salmon, tilapia, whole smelts, crabs, shrimp, and mussels as well as okra summer peas carrots and potatoes and one jalapeno sliced in half for that little tiny kick. Why eat such a hot dish in this weather? I dunno.

Woodstock

Every now and then I have to get my hippie on but not before having fresh strawberry and yoghurt soy milk shakes (we are fake healthy since that is real whipped cream).

It is a two hour drive not including bad traffic but it is nice to get out.



Quaint shops....



Cute things....



A stream with a swimming hole....



Oh and that same mystery "babe" that has followed me around for the last 5 years....
(She looks like she is on the phone but she is actually taking pictures.)



Lastly a dog for the guy to play with (blurry, my Fuji camera apparently sucks).

a day at the beach

Coney Island